Infections

Significant morbidity and mortality is caused by healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs), including surgical site infections (SSIs), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) and other healthcare-related infections and conditions caused by drug-resistant pathogens that jeopardize patient safety.

Rainforest Plant Combats Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Strains

Aggressive infections in hospitals are an increasing health problem worldwide. Now, a young Danish scientist has found a natural substance in a Chilean rainforest plant that effectively supports the effect of traditional treatment with antibiotics. Jes Gitz Holler, from the ...More
February 20, 2012
Posted in News
UB Researchers Concerned About Virulence of Klebsiella pneumoniae

University at Buffalo researchers are expressing concern about a new, under-recognized, much more potent variant of a common bacterium that has surfaced in the U.S. ...More
February 17, 2012
Posted in News, PPE & Standard Precautions
Vaccination Intentions Declined While Risk of H1N1 Still Climbed in First Year of Pandemic

During the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009, the public’s intention to be vaccinated tapered, even while the perception of risk increased and the pandemic flourished, reports a national study, "Trends in Risk Perceptions and Vaccination Intentions: A Longitudinal Study of ...More
February 16, 2012
Posted in News
New Model Accurately Predicts Who Will Develop Deadly Form of Dengue Fever

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch have developed the first accurate predictive model to differentiate between dengue fever (DF) and its more severe form, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). The breakthrough, which could vastly reduce the disease's mortality ...More
February 16, 2012
Posted in News
High Population Density is Greatest Risk Factor for Water-Linked Diseases

Water-associated infectious disease outbreaks are more likely to occur in areas where a region's population density is growing, according to a new global analysis of economic and environmental conditions that influence the risk for these outbreaks. Ohio State University ...More
February 14, 2012
Posted in News
Treating Acute Sinusitis With Antibiotic Does Not Appear Helpful

Treatment with the antibiotic amoxicillin for patients with acute uncomplicated rhinosinusitis (inflammation of the nasal cavity and sinuses) did not result in a significant difference in symptoms compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the Feb. ...More
February 14, 2012
Posted in News
Compound May Help in Fight Against Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs

North Carolina State University chemists have created a compound that makes existing antibiotics 16 times more effective against antibiotic-resistant superbugs. These so-called superbugs are actually bacterial strains that produce an enzyme known as New Delhi ...More
February 13, 2012
Posted in News
Scripps Research Scientists Identify Most Lethal Known Species of Prion Protein

Scientists from the Florida campus of the Scripps Research Institute have identified a single prion protein that causes neuronal death similar to that seen in “mad cow” disease, but is at least 10 times more lethal than larger prion species. This toxic single molecule or ...More
February 9, 2012
Posted in News
Scientists Sound the Alarm Over Threat of Untreatable Gonorrhea

Researchers are continuing to sound the alarm on the growing threat of multi-drug resistant gonorrhea in the United States, according to a Perspective commentary in the Feb. 9, 2012 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. In July 2011, the Centers for Disease Control ...More
February 9, 2012
Posted in News
Study Evaluates Antibiotic Option For Treating Bladder Infection in Women

Short-term use of the antibiotic cefpodoxime for the treatment of women with uncomplicated cystitis (bladder infection) did not meet criteria for noninferiority for achieving clinical cure compared with ciprofloxacin, a drug in the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics for ...More
February 8, 2012
Posted in News